St Patrick’s Day Sink or Float Experiment

Leprechauns love their coins, and my little leprechaun loves collecting pennies. So I set up a St Patrick’s Day sink or float experiment. We love any science that involves playing with water, and we especially love STEM activities for St Patrick’s Day! This lucky leprechaun sink or float game is so easy to set up, and offers lots of opportunities for experimentation. Make sure to check out more of our St. Patrick’s Day STEM activities

ST PATRICK’S DAY SINKING PENNIES EXPERIMENT!

SINK OR FLOAT

Get ready to add this simple St Patrick’s Day sink or float experiment to your STEM lesson plans this season. If you want to introduce your kiddos to the science of buoyancy, let’s dig in. While you’re at it, make sure to check out these other fun St Patrick’s Day activities.

Our science activities and experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

Experiment with this fun St Patrick’s Day sink or float experiment that will definitely keep the kids engaged. Not only is it an awesome St Patrick’s Day activity idea, it also offers tons of ways to experiment and learn about the science of buoyancy.

ST PATRICK’S DAY FLOAT OR SINK ACTIVITY

Let’s get right to learning about buoyancy by investigating what objects sink or float in water. Head to the kitchen, open the cupboards and be prepared to get a little wet.

This float or sink experiment asks the question: What causes objects to sink or float in water?

YOU WILL NEED:

Mini Black Pot

LEGO

Ruler

Container

Water

Pennies

Paper Towels

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HOW TO SET UP YOUR SINK OR FLOAT EXPERIMENT:

STEP 1: Fill up your container with water. Set out the pot, a pile of LEGO, and a bowl of pennies. Add some paper towels!

STEP 2: Place your mini black pot next to the container of water and invite your kids to experiment with a St Patrick’s Day sink or float experiment.

First, does the pot sink or float? Have your kids make a prediction and then test their ideas.

STEP 3: Estimate or predict the number of pennies it will take to sink the pot. Then start dropping the pennies into the pot, counting as you go.

What happens to the water level in the container when you add pennies to the pot?

SINK OR FLOAT VARIATIONS

Does the amount of coins it takes to sink the pot change with different types of coins? What other items could sink the pot. We chose pennies for this sneaky leprechaun!

Let’s turn it into more of an experiment. We have really begun to differentiate between activities and experiments by testing more ideas and making more predictions.

How about we make a different type of pot and see how many pennies it takes to sink it! I told my son it should be about the same size and gave him a ruler. He built a black LEGO pot. He tested it. He found his answers. He thought about why one worked better than the other. Read more about scientific method for kids.

There were definite difference between the two pots, and he had a blast testing out his theories. Our St Patrick’s Day sink or float experiment is also a great STEM project. He learned some new science concepts, engineered a pot of his own, and did the math! Now take the “sink or float” challenge with your little leprechauns.

WHAT CAUSE OBJECTS TO SINK OR FLOAT?

Whether an object sinks or floats depends on its density. Everything is made of molecules. Molecules are tiny particles that are too small to see with the naked eye. Some objects have molecules that are packed closely together. Others have molecules that are packed more loosely. This is density.

Objects with tightly packed molecules are denser and sink. A penny is dense. Objects with more loosely packed molecules are less dense and float. Plastic mini pot or LEGO pieces.

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